382 

4 

py 1 



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BLESSED ARE THEY; 



OR, 



ThDuPhlsan thGBGatitudGS 

I ! 



BY 



Rev. Jesse Sf Gilbert, A. M. 



AUTHOR OF 



"THE OLD PATHS," ETC. 




PATERSOX, N. J.: 
Cakleton M. Hbreigk. 
1890. 



CHAPTER I. 



Tlie Sermon oa the Mount, 



This discourse is so called from the place of its de- 
livery. 

''And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a 
mountain : and when he was set, his disciples came unto 
him. And he opened his mouth and taught them say- 
ing." 

The question naturally arises : From what mount 
or hill did Christ deliver this memorable address ? By 
universal consent, we must select one of the macy hill- 
tops in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee. This is a 
region of great natural beauty. Josephus has left us 
a glowing description of its charms. Modern travelers 
bear the same testimony. 

Tradition has chosen for the particular spot, a hill 
known as Mount Hattin, and on account of this tradition 
called the Mount of Beatitudes. Of this hill, Stanley, a 
very careful and exact observer, gives the following de- 
scription : 

"This mountain, or hill, for it only rises sixty feet 
above the plain, is that known to pilgrims as the Mount 
of Beatitudes, the supposed scene of the Sermon on the 
Mount. The tradition cannot lay claim to any early 
date ; it was in all probability suggested first to the 
Crusaders by its remarkable situation. But that situa- 
tion so strikingly coincides with the intimations of the 



4 



Gospel narrative as almost to force the inference that in 
this instance the eyes of those who selected the spot 
were for once rightly directed. It is the only height 
seen in this direction from the shores of the Lake of 
Gennesareth. The plain on which it stands is easily ac- 
cessible from the lake, and from that plain to the sum- 
mit is but a few minutes walk. The platform at the 
top is evidently suitable for the collection of a multitude 
and corresponds precisely to the 'level place' (Luke vi, 
17, mistranslated plain) to which he w^ould *come down' 
as from one of its higher horns to address the people. 
Its situation is central both to the peasants of the Gali- 
lean hills and the fishermen of the Galilean Lake, be- 
tween which it stands, and would therefore be a natural 
resort both to Jesus and his disciples (Math, iv, 25-v. i) 
w^hen they retired for solitude from the shores of the 
sea, and also to the crowds who assembled from Galilee, 
from Decapolis, from Jerusalem, from Judea, and from 
beyond Jordan. None of the other mountains in the 
neighborhood could answer equally well to this descrip- 
tion, inasmuch as they are merged into the uniform 
barrier of hills round the lake, whereas this stands sep- 
erate, — 'the mountain,' — which alone could lay claim 
to a distinct name, with the exception of the one height 
of Tabor, which is too distinct to answer the require- 
ments.""^ 

This address of our Lord may with great propriety 
be called his inaugural discourse. It was delivered 
primarily to the twelve Apostles, whom he had just 
called and set apart to the work of preaching and 
spreading the Gospel, but also to the people who 

^Stanley's Sinai and Palestine, pp. 360, 361 (2d ed., 368, 369.) 



5 



thronged to hear him. In this sermon is set forth the 
character and principles of the Kingdom of heaven, that 
true Kingdom, compared with which all earth-born 
kingdoms and dominions are but shadows and dreams. 
A sharp contrast is drawn between it and the traditional 
and ceremonial religion of the Scribes and Pharisees, 
and a no less sharper contrast between it and the worldly 
and godless spirit of the gentile world. 

Christ had been accused of disregarding the law of 
Moses. From this charge he fully vindicated himself. 
He showed that he came not to destroy, but to fulfill, 
that in reality his kingdom had greater requirements 
than the old Mosaic law. 

The old law said : " Thou shalt not kill" ; but the 
law of Christ condemns the angry look, the revengeful 
thought. 

It was said to them of old time : "Thou shalt not 
commit adultery"; but Christ's kingdom required purity 
of thought and motive, of speech and look. The purity 
of the old dispensation was outward and ceremonial, 
the kingdom of heaven demands the inner purity of the 
heart. All through this inaugural discourse, our Lord 
sets forth the spiritual nature and requirements of his 
kingdom, in sharp contrast with the formal and ceremo- 
nial nature of the Mosaic law, especially as interpreted 
by the Scribes and Pharisees. The old prophets spoke 
of Christ in two very different ways. Sometimes they 
portrayed him as "a man of sorrows," "despised and re- 
jected of men," "a root out of a dry ground," having "no 
form nor comeliness," wounded, bruised, suffering, dy- 
ing. 

At other times they beheld him as a mighty con- 



6 



queror, ruling the nations with a rod of iron, clad in all 
the vestments of royalty, every knee bowing before 
him, and every tongue singing his praise. 

The Scribes and Pharisees discarded all the pro- 
phecies bearing upon his humiliation, dwelt only upon 
those declaring his glory and gave to them a worldly and 
material interpretation,- 

Hence, they expected the Messiah to come in pomp 
and glory, to deliver them from the galling bondage of 
Eome, to reign as a temporal prince, and to make their 
nation the ruling power of the world. To such ex- 
pectations Christ came as a great disappointment. 
Born in poverty, reared to manhood in obscure and ill- 
reputed Nazareth, surrounded by a bodyguard of tax- 
gatherers and fishermen, he was anything but the Mes- 
siah of Rabbinical expectation. 

In this sermon Christ set forth the true nature of 
his kingdom. It is not a kingdom of worldly rule and 
pomp, yet a true kingdom, having its home in the 
heart and its subjects wherever sin yields to grace. It 
is to endure after all the kingdoms and powers of earth 
have become but memories of the past. Founded upon 
the eternal rock of truth, meeting the wants and aspira- 
tions of the human soul in every age, no wave of oppo- 
sition can shake, no malice of earth or hell destroy it. 

We have now in our mental vision the whole scene, 
the Preacher, the place, the audience, the discourse, and 
what a wondrous scene it is; fit subject for the pencil of 
the grandest artist ever born. A vast multitude hang 
upon the lips of the Galilean peasant. 

It is not a gray-haired expounder of Rabbinical 
lore whom they have thronged to hear, but the humble 



7 



teacher of Nazareth, untaught in the schools of human 
philosophy, and but little over thirty years of age. His 
wisdom is the wisdom of heaven, his maxims and prin- 
ciples are not those commonly practiced among men, 
but such as those only can receive, into whose hearts 
the light of the divine kingdom has shone. He proclaims 
new and wondrous truth with such calm assurance, such 
serene authority, that the people are astonished beyond 
measure, because "he taught them as one having autho- 
rity, and not as the Scribes." Thus is it ever. Assur- 
ance, authority, give the soul depth, and depth is always 
calm. The man who storms and raves is the man who 
doubts the truth of his own teaching. 

The words of Jesus are as serene and clear as the 
morning star, as bright and potent as the rays of the 
noon-day sun: 

' 'How sweetly flow'd the gospel's sound 
From lips of gentleness and grace, 
While list'ning thousands gathered 'round, 
And joy and reverence filled the place. 

From heaven he came, of heaven he spoke, 

To heaven he led his f oll'wers 'way ; 
Dark clouds of gloomy night he broke, 

Unvailing an immortal day." 

The language in which these teachings of Jesus 
were uttered is no longer a living tongue among men : - 
the dynasties that then ruled the world have passed 
away; the systems of philosophy taught in the schools 
at that time have long since ceased to reign in the em- 
pire of thought; but those words of Jesus are to day 
the grandest and most potent force on earth. 



8 



Devoted men and women are bearing them to the 
most remote nations of the world. Peace and purity 
reign among men, just in proportion as they come up to 
the moral teachings and divine life set forth in this 
sermon on the mount. The general adoption of its 
spirit and principles would transform the world into a 
very Eden of blessing and gladness. Love, kindness 
and purity would dwell in every heart. The sword of 
war would rust away in its scabbard. The black waters 
of intemperance and crime would no longer deluge the 
earth. For the triumph of these principles, the coming 
of this glad era, do we pray, every time that we utter 
the petition : "thy kingdom come." 

It is not proposed in this treatise to unfold all the 
teachings of this sermon, but only that portion known 
as the Beatitudes. They are nine in number, and have 
richly consoled many troubled and afflicted hearts. 

"And he opened his mouth and taught them saying: 
V^essed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven. 

jJBlessed are they that mourn : for they shall be com- 
forted. 

Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the 
earth. 

LBlessed are they which do hunger and thirst after 
righteousness : for they shall be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain 
mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in Tieart : for they shall see 
God. 

JBlessed are the peace^makers : for they shall be 
called the children of God. 



9 



H^essed are they which are persecuted for right- 
eousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

^'Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and 
persecute you^ and shall say all manner of evil against 
you falsely, for my sake. 

Kejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your 
reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets 
which were before you." 

How different are the teachings of Jesus from the 
common feeling among mem If we were asked to indi- 
cate who are the blessed or happy ones, we would nat- 
urally say, the rich, the great, those high in position or 
office, these are the happy ones. 

Not thus does Jesus teach ; — the meek, the pure in 
heart, the mourning ones, the merciful, those persecut- 
ed for righteousness' sake ; these are the truly blessed 
ones. The maxims of heavenly wisdom do not fall in 
with the dictates of human policy. Truly there are two 
kingdoms, the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of this 
world; each having its own principles and each its own 
idea of success. 

To succeed in one, is often to fail in the other. 

One is bounded by the narrow horizon of earth and 
time, the other brings into view the infinite eras of 
eternity. 

The fashion and glory of the kingdoms of this world 
pass away ; fade like the dissolving mists of morn- 
ing ; but God's kingdom standeth sure; no revolution 
can shake, no opposition of earth or hell can harm it. 
Blessed are those having a part and a hope in this king- 
dom. They may be poor in the goods of this world, 
they may suffer under the iron heel of persecution; like 

2 



10 



Paul they may seal their testimony with their blood, 
like Bunyan they may pine away in prison, like their 
Master they may lead a life of toils and tears ; but on 
such " tlie second death hath no poiver,^' and *Hhey shall be 
priests of God and of Christ.'' 



CHAPTER II, 



Tlie Poor in Spirit^ 



"Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven," 

The first utterances of the Great Teacher are words 
of blessing. 

Seven different phases of character are pronounced 
happy or blessed, for either word may be employed as a 
translation of the Greek. As seven is the symbolic 
number of perfection, this would seem to imply the per- 
fection and and blessedness of the Christian character, 
and beautifully accord with the closing words of the 
chapter containing these beatitudes : "Be ye therefore 
perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is per- 
fect." The first blessing is pronounced upon the *'poor 
in spirit." The nature of this blessing turns us at once 
away from the carnal and material. 

It is not an ascetic benediction pronounced upon 
poverty, but the balm of heavenly consolation for broken 
and contrite hearts. 

Only the "poor in spirit'^ can claim this blessing, 
and all such can claim it, even though they be rich in 
the things of this life. By the "poor in spirit" is not 
meant those having but little of the grace of God, and 
leading a merely nominal christian life ; for those are 
only spiritually poor. 



12 



The poor in spirit feel deeply their sinfulness and 
are keenly conscious of their need of Christ. 

David in the penitential wailing of his sorrow, after 
he had committed his great sin against God and man ; 
the thief on the cross humbly beseeching the dying 
Saviour, simply to remember him in the coming hour 
of his glory ; will serve as illustrations or representatives 
of that class upon which the first benediction of Jesus 
is pronounced. 

This benediction stands first, because it is the 
foundation of all that follow. Repentance and confes- 
sion are the entrance door into all the blessings of the 
kingdom. ^^He that covereth Ms sins shall not prosper: 
hut whose con/esseth amd forsaheth them shall have mercy ^ 

^^For thus saith the high and lofty one that inliabiteth 
eternity, lohoso name is Holy; I loill diuell in the high and 
holy place ^ ivith him also that is of a contrite and humble 
spirit, to revive the spirit of the humhle and to revive the 
hiart of the contrite ones'' 

To tbe poor in spirit, then, belongs the blessedness 
of preparation. Every great work has a preparatory 
state. The culture and refinement of the great city 
must be preceded by the axe of the pioneer, and the log 
cabin of the first settler. Summer fruits come after the 
swelling buds, and fragrant blossoms of the spring 
time. 

We urge upon men the acceptance of Christ, when 
as yet they do not feel their need of him. In other 
words we offer before we convince. We seek to uprear 
the new spiritual temple before the old bulwarks of 
pride and self-sufficiency have been torn away. 

Then is it any wonder that our work is short-lived 



13 



and vain, that multitudes drift quickly and easily in 
the church, and as quickly and easily drift out again ? 
The great need of the day is plainness and thoroughness 
in dealing with the souls of men. The plough share of 
divine truth must go down into the subsoil of the heart 
and conscience. In no other way can we secure a hardy 
and healthy religious life. About much of the religion 
of the day there is vast amount of gilt and tinsel. The 
trouble is that we do not start right. A mere senti- 
mentalism often takes the place of down-right, old fash- 
ioned conviction and penitence. 

The cross is covered with flowers. The pathway to 
heaven is strewn with roses. It would be about as easy 
to trace with the eye the lines of latitude and longitude 
upon the suface of the earth, as to discern in the lives 
of many professed christians, any line of separation be- 
tween the church and the world. If we would correct 
these evils we must go back to first principles. We 
must teach men that without Christ they are poor and 
vile, blind and wretched ; that if they would enter the 
kingdom of heaven, they must come by the way of the 
broken and contrite heart The history of the church 
on earth furnishes many beautiful illustrations of the 
benediction pronounced upon the poor in spirit. Some 
of the most tender and touching of these illustrations are 
from the Parables of Jesus. What a beautiful picture 
we have in the prodigal son, coming back to his Father's 
house, foot-sore and weary, covered with rags, faint with 
hunger, and exclaiming in his broken-hearted penitence : 
"Father I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, 
and am no more worthy to be called thy son 

In another exquisite parable we are told of two men 



4 



14 



who went up into the temple to pray, the one a proud 
Pharisee, the other a despised publican. 

The Pharisee stood and prayed with himself, thank- 
ing God that he was so much better than others, that he 
fasted twice in the week, that he gave tithes of all that 
he possessed ; but the publican, standing afar off, would 
not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote 
upon his breast, saying : "God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner." 

*'I tell you," said Jesus, "this man went down to 
his house justified rather than the other ; for every one 
that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that 
humbleth himself shall be exalted.'* 

Blessed are the poor hi spirit: for theirs is the kingdom 
of heaven^ 

On still another occasion did Jesus teach the neces- 
sity of humility. On a certain time the Disciples quar- 
relled among themselves, as to who should be the great- 
est ; the old, old quarrel by which kingdoms have been 
shaken and great churches divided. Jesus took 
a little child, and having placed the little one in the 
midst of the angry and exited group, said : "Except ye 
be converted and become as little children, ye shall not 
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore 
shall humble himself as this little child, the same is 
greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 

Still the same old lesson : Blessed are the poor in 
spirit. 

gome of the purest and noblest saints of the Most 
High have most deeply lamented their unworthiness, 
have written the most bitter things against themselves. 
In the utterances of Paul, Bunyan, Wesley, Paysen and 



15 



Kindred spirits, we find the deepest humility, the most 
utter self-loathing, the most intense yearning after God. 
We are not to infer that such souls are really worse and 
more needy than others. Far from it, but they have 
gone up so far upon the mount of God, that the divine 
glory reveals to them, all the deeper and darker by 
contrast, the stains and spots of earth's defilement. 
They are not comparing themselves with men, but with 
God. We are not wise in comparing ourselves with 
ourselves. As well might a sick man in some hospital, 
lying upon his bed of pain and fever, flatter himself that 
he enjoyed a good degree of health, because so many 
others were in a worse state than he. As well might a 
man in prison for some minor offence deem himself a 
saint because not a burglar or a murderer. 

If we would know our true state, we must compare 
ourselves with God and his holy law. 

If we do this, so far from being lifted up with 
pride, we will cry out with the prophet : "Woe is me ! 
for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips, 
and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips, for 
mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts." 
Happy will it be for us, if the angel of light, that with 
a live coal from off the alter, cleansed the soul of the 
prophet, shall in like manner purge away our iniquity. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit." Not poverty of 
thought, nor of courage, nor of emotion, — not empty- 
mindedness, nor any idea implying a real lack of 
strength, variety and richness of nature, — was here 
intended. It was to be a consciousness of moral incom- 
pleteness. As the sense of poverty in this world's goods 
inspires men to enterprise, so the consciousness of a 



16 



poverty of manliness might be expected to lead to earn- 
est endeavors for moral growth. 

This first sentence was aimed full at that supreme 
self-complacency which so generally resulted from the 
school of the Pharisee. Paul's interpretation of his 
own experience illustrates the predominant spirit. He 
once had no higher idea of character than that incul- 
cated in the law of Moses, and he wrote of his attain- 
ments : '^Touching the righteousness which is in the 
law blameless." He was a perfect man. 

The world was full of perfect men. Groups of 
them were to be found in every synagogue. To be sure 
they were worldly, selfish, ambitious, vindictive, but 
without the consciousness of being the worse for all that. 
Rigorous exactitude in a visible routine gave them the 
right to thank God that they were not as other men 
were. For such men in such moods, there could be no 
spiritual life. They could never sympathize with 
that new life which was coming upon the world, in 
which the treasures were love, joy, peace, long-suflfer- 
ing, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. 

But those who painfully felt the poverty of their 
inward nature in all these excellencies might rise to the 
blessings of the new kingdom, *'in which dwelleth right- 
eousness." 

In the homely, yet sweetly expressive, language of 
John Bunyan: 

"He that is down need fear no fall ; 

He that is low no pride ; 
He that is humble ever shall 
Have God to be his guide. 



CHAPTER III. 



Those tliat Mourn. 

^^Blessed are tliey that mourn : for they shall be 
comforted.*' 

"God in Israel sows tlie seeds 

Of affliction, pain, and toil ; . 
These spring up and clioke the weeds 

Which would else o'erspread the soil. 
Trials make the promise sweet. 

Trials give new life to prayer, 
Trials bring me to his feet. 

Lay me low and keep me there. 

CoWPEPv. 

The second Beatitude is pronounced upon the 
mourner : "Blessed are they that mourn." Jesus did 
not mean by this that mourning is in itself a blessing, 
or to be desired ; for the very blessedness of these 
mourners is, that "they shall be comforted." 

It is plain that the mourning referred to cannot be 
the ordinary grief of men over loss of earthly good.. 

Such sorrow is common and natural to all men, and 
where the heart is not hallowed and softened by grace, 
often results in despair and death. To the child of God 
trouble and affliction are sanctified, but the same sun 
that melts the wax only hardens the clay. 

The blessed or happy mourner is he who mourns 
over his sins and penitently looks to God for pardon 

3 



18 



and mercy. Thus we see how the second Beatitude 
follows upon the first. Such mourners are sure to be 
comforted. They shall be comforted by the pardon of 
all their sins and by the grace and favor of God. This 
"godly sorrow" over sin differs widely from the sorrow 
that springs merely from the loss and suffering that sin 
has entailed. 

Such sorrow bewails not the sin, but merely the 
consequences, and is no better than the lashings of re- 
morse. 

True penitence sorrows for sin, because God has 
been offended and his holy law transgressed. 

David sinned bitterly against society, against his 
fellow creatures, against Uriah, and Bathsheba, and 
Joab, and all Israel, but the most tormenting thought 
to him was, that he had sinned against God. 

"Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done 
this evil in thy sight !" is his heart-broken cry. 

The poor prodigal comes home, and his confession 
begins : "Father I have sinned against heaven." 

This is ever the essence of real repentance, it is 
"toward God," Sentimental regrets over human weak- 
ness, the lashings of remorse, lamentations over the 
losses and misfortunes entailed by sin, never lift the 
soul any nearer to God or heaven. 

But the true penitent, mourning over his sins, look- 
ing to Jesus for help, soon finds salvation and peace. 
The clouds are dispelled, the shadows fly, tears of sor- 
row give place to tears of joy, the seal of divine pardon 
is stamped upon the soul, and the poor mourner is 
transformed into a child of God and heir of glory. Then 
can he sing : 



19 



"My God is reconciled; 

His pardoning voice I hear; 
He owns me for his child; 

I can no longer fear; 
With confidence I now draw nigh, 
And Father, Abba, Father, cry." 

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall he comforted. 

Even after the soul has thus passed into the life of 
God, there are seasons of mourning. The christian is 
not always upon the mountain top. Temptations and 
trials, sorrows and afflictions come sooner or later to 
all. No degree of holiness or piety can afford exemp- 
tion. 

Paul had a "thorn in the flesh/* Luther was sorely 
buffeted by the devil, Paysen seemed at times to be 
beset by all the hosts of darkness; even the Son of Man 
himself felt the tempter's power, and although without 
sin, was "in all points tempted like as we are. 

Often the child of God mourns over his low spiri- 
tual state, his feeble attainments, his imperfections and 
failings. He compares his actual with his possible 
state, and bewails his leanness of soul. The purest and 
the best of God's saints have passed through just such 
seasons. There are christians that refuse to sing : 
"Prove to wander, LorJ, I feel it" — because they say 
they are beyond and above all such experiences, but 
these do not represent the highest type of Christianity. 
If they were nearer to the sun, they would more clearly 
see their defects. The most pious men and women that 
have adorned the annals of the church, have past the 
most humble estimate upon their own attainments. 

Blessed indeed are these mourning pilgrims. Their 



20 



pathway shall shine "more and more unto the perfect 
day." 

Througli the valley of humility they shall pass on- 
ward and upward to the mountain-tops of blessing. As 
the majestic river takes its rise from some modest foun- 
tain, far up among the snow-capped hills, so does a 
broad and deep experience spring from the secret foun- 
tain of child-like faith and humble prayer. 

The christian is often a mourner, through affliction 
and pain. Like others he is exposed to all the vicissi- 
tudes and ills of human life. Unlike others his sorrow 
is not without hope. He can lean upon the strong arm 
of Jesus. He knows that '^aU things ivork together for' 
good, to them that love God.'' 

These afflictions only work out the glory of God 
and his own highest good. 

^'Noio no chastening for the present seemeth to he joijous, 
hut grievous: Nevertheless, afterivard it yieldeth the ijeace- 
ahle fruit of righeousness unto them ivhich are exercised 
therehyy 

The mourning saint is comforted and sustained 
here, he will be fully comforted hereafter. 

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; 
7ieither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the 
Lamh tvhich is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and 
shall lead them unto living fountains of ivaters, and God shall 
toiye aioay all tears from their eyes'^ 

' 'There is a region lovelier far 
Than sages tell or poets sing, 
Bnghter than noontide glories are, 
And softer than the tints of spring, 



21 



It is all holy and serene, 

The land of glory and repose; 
No cloud obscures the radient scene, 

And not a tear of sorrow flows." 

This liappy land is not a phantom or a myth, but 
heaven, the saints eternal rest, the place that Jesus has 
gone to prepare for them that love him. 

In that bright land of bliss and song, all the tears 
of earth shall be wiped away, and the weary pilgrims 
find endless peace and rest. 

Often does the child of God find occasion for mourn- 
ing in the depressed state of Zion, the apathy and cold- 
ness of professed christians, the sins and sorrows of a 
godless and dying world. With Jeremiah, he exclaims : 

thai my head were luaters^ and mine eyes a fountain of 
tears J that I might loeep day and night for the slain of the 
daughter of my ^people 

He is almost ready to cry with Paul : ^'For I coidd 
icish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, 
my kinsmen according to the flesh'' 

Let not gay worldlings or cold hearted, nominal 
christians think such sorrow strange or unmanly. It 
has dwelt in the breasts of the purest and noblest. 

"Did Christ o'er sinners weep, 
And shall our cheeks be diy." 

The church is powerless that does not burn and 
glow with a sacred agooy for sinners. 

Such mourning will give place to the deepest joy : 
for christians animated by such feelings will toil faith- 
fully in the vineyard, and God hath promised that his 
word shall not return uuto him void. Christians, like 
their divine Lord, shall see of the travail of their souls 



22 



and be satisfied. It often seems in the conflict between 
light and darkness, that the forces of evil are triumph- 
ant : but there can be no doubt about the final issue. 
God and truth must overcome. The cross is the emblem 
of certain victory. 

In a great coDflict, there may be temporary and 
local defeats, while all the time the main army is pres- 
sing on to sure and glorious victory. Noah and his 
family were faithful among the faithless; the only bright 
spot in a weary wilderness of sin and shame. Elijah 
stood firm for God, when in all Israel only seven thou- 
sand could be found that had not bowed the knee to 
Baal. Isaiah cried : Who hath believed our reports and 
to ivhom is the arm of the Lord revealed?'' In every age, 
thus far, the people of God have been a '^little flock." 
But it will not always be so. In the grand age to fol- 
low, when Christ in person comes to reign, the whole 
earth will be filled with the glory of God. The old 
prophets beheld this day and were glad. John had a 
vision of it from the rock-bouud isle of Patmos. It is 
coming on. Each rising sun brings it nearer. 

"2Vie sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for 
brightness shall the moon give light unto thee : but the Lord 
shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 
Thy sun shall no more go down: neither shall thy moon luith- 
draw itself: for the Lord, shall be thine everlasting light, and 
the days of thy mourning shall be ended'' 

^^And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the 
moon, to shine in it : for the glory (f God did lighten it, and 
the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them ivhich 
are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the 
earth do bring their glory and honour into it," 



'SJesiis shall reign where'er the sun 

Does his succession jonrneys rnn; 
His kingdom spread from shore to shore, 

Till moon shall wax and wane no more." 

Then blessed are all those mourners, whose sorrow 
is such as belongs to the people of God. They shall be 
be comforted. Their present sorrow is like the darkness 
that precedes the morn. The tears of earth shall be 
transmuted into gems of beauty that will flash and 
shine forever in the diadem of life. 

The blood-washed multitudes that now sing the 
song of redeeming love in the Paradise on high, were 
once pilgrims and strangers here below, battled with all 
the powers of darkness, and wept tears of sorrow and 
pain : but now they are forever blest. What to them 
are the sorrows and conflicts of earth ? 

When the shore is reached at last, 
Who will count the billows past ? 

By and by, if we are faithful, we will join their 
ranks and sing their songs. The sorrows and trials of 
earth will give place to the eternal peace of heaven. 



CHAPTER IV, 



Th.e Meek. 



'^Blessed are the meek : for tliey shall iaherit the 
earth." 

Many of the christian graces, as courage, fortitude 
and patience, commend themselves to men of the world. 
It is not so with meekness. Philosophy and song never 
celebrated the praises of the meek. To resentan in jury, 
to punish an enemy, has always been regarded, outside 
of Christ's teaching, as a proper and noble thing to do. 
Among the heathen, to hate an enemy, has always been 
regarded as much a duty as to love a friend. With this 
accord the teachings of the old Greek and Roman 
writers. One of the qualities of the good man described 
by Cicero is, that he hurts no one, except he be injured 
himself. Aristotle speaks of meekness as a defect, and 
of revenge as a more manly thing. 

Meekness is generally regarded as less manly and 
noble than revenge or anger. So far is this from being 
the case that true meekness, the meekness commended 
and exhibited by Christ, is consistent with the highest 
courage. Can all history show a braver, grander life, ^ 
than that of Jesus Christ ? Yet was he "meek and lowly 
of heart." He uttered burning words against sin, drove 
the unholy throng of money-changers and merchants 
out of the temple ; always bore swift and strong wit- 

4 



1 



26 



ness for the truth, and to save a world of sin and suffer- 
ing, braved the awful agonies of the Cross, With a firm 
step and a serene brow, but with a meeh and gentle heart, 
did the Son of Man tread this path-way of conflict and 
pain. Tempted, insulted, rejected, deserted, crucified, 
tried as no man has been before or since ; not one word 
of passioD, impatience, fear or hatred passed his lips. 
Behold him on the Cross, a spectacle for men aud 
angels, dyiog a death of shame, of slow and awful 
agony ; faint, bleeding, thirsting, every vein throbbing 
with fever, every nerve quivering with pain. 

" His sacred limbs they stretcli, they tear; 

ATith nails they fasten to the wood; 
His sacred limbs, exposed and bare, 

Or only covered with his blood. 

Behold his temples, crown'd with thorn; 

His bleeding hands, extended wide; 
His streaming feet, transfixed and torn; 

The fountain gushing from his side. " 

He speaks : for what purpose have those pale lips 
parted, to utter curses upon his foes, to summon angelic 
hosts to his rescue? No, hear O heavens! and be 
astonished, O earth ! to breathe to the Father a prayer 
for mercy upon his murderers. Father forgive them 
and then as though anxious to find some loop-hole 
through which a ray of mercy might dart, he adds, 'for 
they hiow not lohat they do'' Was there ever such an ex- 
hibition of patient suffering, of love and meekness ? Yet 
there was no craven fear, no call for release, no shrink- 
ing back from the agonies of redemption. 

Who then dare say that meekness and courage are 



27 



exclusive of each other ? So far from this being true, 
meekness is an attribute of the highest and purest 
manhood. The very possession of this grace is in it- 
self a blessing. If it were not added "/or they shall in- 
herit the earth it would still be true that blessed 
are the meekr 

Many of the followers of Jesus have been bright 
examples of this grace. It is true that they have fallen 
far behind the divine model, for like the moon, christ- 
ians, even the best of christians, shine with a borrowed 
and a lesser light. But as a single drop of water, is as 
really water as the whole ocean, having within its tiny 
liquid sphere all the properties and characteristics of 
water, so meekness in the disciple is the same in 
kind as meekness in the Lord. 

Our perfection is to be as,'* similar to, the same in 
nature as the perfection of our Father which is in 
heaven." 

We read of Moses that he was " very meek above all 
the men ivhich were upon the face of the earth '' 

Paul a prisoner standing before the royal Agiippa, 
had no malice or enmity in his great heart of love, but 
wished that even his enemies and persecuters might 
share with him the grace and mercy of God. And 
Paul said y I luoidd to God, that not only thou, but also all 
that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such 
as I am, except these bonds'' 

Stephen, the first christian Martyr was a shining 
example of meekness. 

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and say- 
ing : Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 

And he kneeled down and cried ivitli a loud voice, 



28 



Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And ivhen he had 
this, he fdl asleep^ 

Stephen was only the first in a mighty host. We 
may trace the history of the true church of Christ, all 
along the ages, by the blood marks of her martyrs. A 
countless multitude of strong men, of tender women, 
yea, and of little children too, have sealed their testi- 
mony with their blood. Like the saints of a still older 
time ; ^'they loere stoned, they loere satun asunder, were 
tempted, ivere slain with the sword : they loandered about in 
sheep-sMns, and goat-skins ; being destitute, ajffiicted, tor- 
mented ; they ivandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in 
dens and caves of the earth'' 

Prominent in their characters, was the grace of 
meekness. They often died as Stephen and their 
master died, with a prayer for their murderers upon 
their lips. The blessing of the meek was upon them. 
Yet this blessing seems a strange one to rest upon a 
martyr. " Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the 
earth.'' 

The word translated " earth," might be rendered 
the land, a seeming reference to Canaan as the land of 
promise. In one sense this promise has a sort of literal 
fulfillment even in this present disj)ensation. All things, 
including of course, for the greater must include the 
less, '^things present " the land, " belong to the 
children of God. Not in a course, material sense is 
this true, for " man shall not Jive by bread alone," and again 
" a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things 
tohich he possesseth," But if the divine life is in a man's 
soul, he can see his Father's hand and feel his Father's 
pres3nc3 in all thiags about him. To such an one : 



29 



^^The heavens declare the glory of God; and thefirmanent 
shoiveth his handy tuork^ / Ji the earth is the Lord's, 
aod the fullness thereof is not he adopted into the 
Lord's family, and is he not one of the heirs of God ? 
Is he poor and in need ? The gold, the silver, and the 
cattle upon a thousand hills belong to God, and through 
God to him. 

All nature is to him vocal with the praises of God, 
and bright with the divine presence. He hears the 
voice of God in the thunder of the ocean, in the sighing 
of the night-wind, in the patter of the rain, in the sub- 
lime march of the tempest ; and this not in a cold, pan- 
theistic sense ; God is to him a real personality, a 
living and sacred presence. 

Such an one though clad in the mean garments of 
poverty, can be truly said to inherit the earth. 



He looks abroad into the varied field 

Of nature; and tliongh poor, perhaps, compared 

With those whose mansions glitter in his sight, 

Calls the delightful scenery all his own. 

His are the mountains, and the valleys his. 

And the resplendent rivers; His to enjoy 

With a x^ropriety that none can feel, 

But who, with filial confidence inspired, 

Can lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye, 

And smiling say, "my Father made them all." 



This experience is well described by Jonathan Ed- 
wards, the great metaphysician of New England, who 
tells us that he spent much of his time in viewiog the 
clouds and sky, to behold the sweet glory of God in 
these things ; in the meantime singing forth with a low 
voice, his contemplations of the Creator and Redeemer." | 




30 



The promise to the meek has in addition to this, a 
spiritual fulfillment. The land of Canaan, to which 
there seems to be a reference in the Saviour's words, 
typified not only the heavenly rest, but also the king- 
dom of grace, the land of faith and love. This the 
meek inherit in all its fullness, in the entire sweep of 
its length and breadth. It is indeed 

"A land of corn, and wine, and oil, 
FaYoiir'd with God's pecnliar smile, 

AVith every blessing blest; 
There dwells the Lord our Eighteonsness, 
And keeps his own in perfect peace, 
And everlasting rest." 

Upon this land shines the sun of righteousness, 
along its vales and hills, grow the lily of the valley and 
the rose of Sharon, It is fanned by breezes from the 
mountains of God, and watered by rills from the river 
of life. The angels of God walk its bowers, and pitch 
their silvery tents all along its path-ways. Its inhabi- 
taDts feed upon heavenly manna, and ever and anon 
through its clear, bright atmosphere, like Christians in 
the land of Beulah, catch a vision of the celestial city. 

Not only do the meek inherit this land, but none 
save the meek can inherit it. The revengeful, the un- 
holy, the cruel, the impure, have no place in the land 
of peace and purit3\ Only the white-robed can enter 
there. 

This promise to the meek has again a literal ful- 
fillment. The land of Canaan typified also the Christ- 
ian's final rest in glory. The earthly Canaan is a type 
of the heavenly Canaan. There is one day to be not 
only a new heaven, but a new earth. Out of the smoke 



31 



and ashes of this old, sin-cursed grave-scared eartli, 
shall emerge a new earth in which shall dwell right- 
eousness. 

This shall the meek inherit. We have Paradise 
lost at one end of the Bible, but we have Paradise re- 
stored at the other. The curse shall be lifted. All 
tears shall be wiped away. There shall be no more 
sin, nor pain, nor death. 

^^And God shall loipe aicay all tears from their eyes ; 
and there shall he no more death, neither sorroio, nor crying, 
neither shall there he any more pain : for the former things 
are passed aioay.'^ 

Then shall the Saviour's promise be fulfilled to the 
utmost letter : the meek shall inherit the earth. This 
day is fast approaching. Sin and wrong may triumph 
for a season, but their time is short. The future, 
all the countless ages of eternity belong to truth 
and right. We can afford to wait and be patient. Let 
us cultivate the grace of meekness. It is a gem of 
priceless value. It may not commend us to the world. 
Men of the world may even think us wild or simple. 

But we will have the highest of all honor, that 
which Cometh from God. One thing is certain, we can- 
not have both, the praise of a godless world, and the 
honor that comes from a holy God. There is a choice, 
a selection to be made. We cannot serve two masters, 
especially where the masters have no common interests. 
If we would have the blessings of the meek, we must 
bear the cross of the meek. We must take part in the 
perils and privations of the campaign, if we would share 
in the rejoicings and spoils of victory. 

'^Blessed are they that do his commandments^ that they 



32 



may have rigid to the tree of life, and may enter in throvgh 
the gates into the city,'' 



CHAPTER V, 

They wliicli do liunger and tliirst after Righteousness. 



"Blessed are tliey which do hunger and thirst after 
righteousness : for they shall be filled." Math. y. vi. 

Hunger and thirst are here used to typify the keen- 
est desires and warmest aspirations of the soul. The soul 
has its needs as well as the body. The bread of life is 
as essential as the bread that perisheth. Next to the 
actual possession of holiness, is the blessedness of 
ardent longing for it. This implies a degree of purity 
already existing, or else there could not be such an 
earnest desire for so spiritual a blessing. The carnal 
heart has no such heavenly aspirations. The flowers of 
such pure desire, can only spring from a soil already 
watered by the dews of God's grace. 

The terms employed, hunger and thirst, express the 
intensity of the desire. It is not a mere sentimental 
longing, or the deference often paid to holiness in the 
abstract, by men of impure hearts and lives, upon which 
a blessing is pronounced. 

Hunger and thirst are the demands of our physical 
natures for food and drink, and unless these demands 
are met, we must die. 

In like manner, the wants and aspirations of the 
soul must be supplied, or our higher nature will starve 
and perish. 



34 



Hunger and thirst have long been used as tjpe« of 
intense desire. Virgil speaks of the "cursed hunger 
after gold. " Men hunger and thirst for fame, 
riches and pleasure. But these desires spring from the 
carnal and depraved heart, whilst the longing after 
righteousness comes through the indwelling of the Holy 
Spirit. The desire for earthy good may never be real- 
ized, or if for a short season enjoyed, must at the very 
best, perish in the using. How eagerly do the children 
of the world pursue pleasure, yet it palls upon the jaded 
appetite, and they turn away weary, disgusted and un- 
satisfied. 

' -Tleasures are like poppies spread, 

You seize tlie flower, its bloom is shed ; 
Or like the snow-falls in the river, 

A momen.t white, then melts forever ; 
Or like the rain-bow's lovely form, 
Evanishing amid the storm," 

The deathless soul, man's highest and best nature, 
can no more be fed upon earthly pleasure, than the life 
of the body can be preserved upon husks and straw. 
It is not in the power of earth's pleasures to satisfy 
immortal cravings. 

Fame can do no better. Ambition is said to be the 
folly of noble minds, but ambitious dreams can never fill 
and satisfy a human soul. Thousands toil and struggle 
to reach fame's glittering temple, but miserably perish 
at the base of the hill. Others reach the goal of their 
desires only to be rudely hurled back into disgrace and 
obscurity. 

The multitude that cry, "hosanna," to-day, on the 
morrow may cry '^crucify him, crucify him." • 



35 



One age erects an idol, and the succeeding generation 
sets it aside for another. Men turn from the setting to 
the rising sun. Even were a man to reach ambitions 
highest goal, and there to remain, to live and to die the 
idol of his age, and then to have his memory revered to 
the end of time, still would the soul cry out for some- 
thing higher and better. 

* 'These feverish dews that on my temple's hang, 
This quivering lip, these eyes of dying flame — • 
These, the dread signs of many a secret-pang — 
These are the meeds of him who pants for fame." 

This is tlie testimony of one who knew whereof he 
affirmed. 

Even the pursuit of knowledge cannot Jill the soul. 
The field is so vast, that there comes over the thought- 
ful mind a painful sense of its poverty. A Newton or a 
Humboldt can but wander along the shore. The vast 
ocean rolls beyond. But were it possible for a human 
intellect to sweep through the whole realm of know- 
ledge, to count and weigh the stars to unbraid the beams 
of morning, to disclose the secrets of the rocks, to unroll 
the musty annals of history and over the plains of 
mental vision to marshall the armies and navies, the 
emperors and philosophers, the states and kingdoms of 
ages past, yea, to traverse through all art and all 
science ; all literature and all wisdom, still without God 
and his righteousness, the soul would return unsatisfied 
and fold its weary pinions over a heart disquieted and 
sad, 

' 'Sorrow is knowledge ; they who know the most 
Must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth, 
The tree of knowledge is not that of life. 



36 



But they that hunger and thirst after righteousness 
shall be filled, satisfied, saturated ; for it takes all three 
translations to bring out the full meaning of the Greek. 
Here we find rest, peace, satisfaction, and here only. 
The best aspirations of the soul can be met nowhere 
else. Alike from the gay bowers of pleasure, the gray 
halls of learning, and the glowing temple of fame, comes 
the sad refrain, '*it is not in me." 

The Saviour's promise is a positive one. It is not 
may, or can, but shall be filled. There is no doubt 
about it. The righteousness here spoken of, is not legal 
righteousness, justification, not ceremonial purity, but 
heart purity, a cleansing of the soul and life. 

The old Scribes and Pharisees w^ere familiar with 
ceremonial purity, a purity that only concerned itself 
with the outside of the platter, that garnished and 
white-washed the sepulchre ; but, alas ! of heart purity 
they knew but little. To them, Christ spoke in an un- 
known tongue. This righteousness is not to be found 
in any mere ceremony. 

It is not in the water of baptism, or in the bread 
and wine of the Lord's supper. It is not in altar or 
priest. It comes to the soul only through the influence 
of the Holy Ghost. It does not come unsought or un- 
desired. 

There must be a preparation for it, a hungering and 
thirsting after it. Let us now consider the blessedness 
of a soul thus filled and satisfied. 

Such a soul is at rest, is no longer tossed upon the 
strong sea of passion and desire. God's righteousness 
soothes, calms, quiets. It takes the fever from the 
veins, the ache and pain from the heart, the wrinkles of 



37 



care and sorrow from face and brow. There is a calm- 
ness and rest in the very countenance of one who walks 
and communes with God. His heart is no longer con- 
sumed by the cares and vanities of life. To one 
standirg on some tall mouDtain peak, the rivers and 
streams look like tiny ribbons, the towns appear as toy 
houses and men as pigmies ; so to one far up on the 
everlasting hills of purity, all the things of earth, that 
men of the world so much esteem, appear but as the 
small dust of the balance. The soul thus filled with 
righteousness resembles God, bears the divine image. 

There are many of the divine attributed to which 
we cannot aspire. We cannot pray or hope io be like 
God in power, or wisdom or omnipresence ; but we can 
pray and strive to be like him in purity or holiness. 
The "beauty of the Lord our God" may be upon us. 
God is infinitely holy, holy in all his ways and works. 
He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allow- 
ance. Holiness is stamped upon all his works. He 
made the angels pure. Man as he came from the hand 
of his maker, was pure. The heavenly hosts as 
they bend before the great white throne, cry ; '^holy, 
holy^ holy, is the Lord of hostsT The saints give thanks 
at the remembrance of his holine&'s. The more we 
study the divine character, the more clearly will we see 
that over ail his attributes and works, is thrown the 
white radiance of his holiness. To be like God in this 
respect, to be filled with his righteousness, may all his 
saints aspire. Humboldt said after writing his im- 
mortal Cosmos : "Oh God, I think thy thoughts after 
thee." 

But 'the Christian can not only ponder upon the 



38 



thoughts of God ; he can show forth in some humble 
degree the divine holiness, can reflect upon a sad and 
sinful world, the purity and righteousness with which 
God has filled his soul. 

The soul that is filled with righteousness is in sym- 
pathy with all that is good. Between such a soul and 
the plans and will of the heavenly Father, there can be 
no discord. When the Christian has measured 
up to this promise and benediction, he looks upon sin 
in all its forms with the utmost loathing. The eye is 
not more sensitive to dust than is the purified soul to 
sin. Such a state Charles Wesley described, when he 
wrote : 

' 'I want a princix)le within, 
Of jealous, godly fear ; 
A sensibility of sin, 

A pain to feel it near ; 
I want the first approach to feel, 

Of pride, or fond desire; 
To catch the wand'ring of my will, 

And quench the kindhng fire. " 

The soul filled with righteousness is prepared for 
Heaven. Heaven is not only a happy but a holy place, 
happy because holy. 

' 'In heaven alone no sin is found. 
And there's no weeping there. " 

There are many who think much about the rest and 
joy of heaven, but forget that there must be a moral fit- 
ness for heaven. Heaven would have no joy or peace 
for a carnal heart. If the songs and service of God's 
earthly worship have no joy for us, what attraction can 
there be in the higher and holier service of * heaven ? 



39 



Only the pure in heart can see God upon his heavenly 
throne. This heart purity, this fullness of righteous- 
ness must be sought here. It is folly and madness to 
hope for death to transform our characters and tastes. 
Death has no power to change the sinner to a saint. 

It is said by some, that if we were thus filled with 
the righteousness of God, we should be unfitted for the 
the cares and duties of ordinary life, and God must at 
once transfer us to Heaven. So far is this from being 
true, that a christian is never so well prepared for the 
work of life, as when thus filled with God's light and 
power. Were the apostles taken to Heaven at once, 
when filled with the mighty baptism of Pentacost ? 
The baptism was for life and work, not for death. 
Earth hath much greater need of such power than 
heaven. It was when the lips of the prophet had been 
cleansed by the sacred fire, his iniquity taken away, 
and his sin purged, that he could say, *4iere am I ; send 
me. 

This divine power is the great need of the church 
to-day. Without it, wealth, numbers social position, 
learning are but the small dust of the balance. Filled 
with this holy power, one could chase a thousand, and 
two put ten-thousand to flight. 

The weakest would become as David, and David as 
an angel of light. 

Many christians seem to hunger and thirst after 
the vanities and follies, the vain shov/ and fashion of a 
dying and godless world. Would that instead they were 
led to hunger and thirst after the things of God. It is not 
the assaults of sceptics, nor the arguments of rationalism 
and infidelity, that weaken and impair the strength of 



40 



Zion. These are forces from without, and fall as harm- 
lessly upon the everlasting foundations of God's truth, as 
the wayes that break in foam and spray upon the rocks 
of Gibralter. But the deadness and coldness of many, 
the indifference of some, and the treason of others ; 
these sap the foundations of her strength and dry up 
the fountain's of her life. 

These smite the walls and foundations of Zion with 
a dry rot, more fatal than myriads ot enemies in the 
open field. 

For the very sake of comfort, we ought to be filled 
with righteousness. The lukewarm christian has a 
sorry time of it. He cannot enjoy the world as he once 
did, and he certainly does not enjoy God. In seeking 
to serve God and mammon, he loses both ; for they can 
no more be united in the heart of the same person, 
than darkness and light, good and evil can come 
together and be as one. 

' 'Tis worse tlian deatli my God to love, 
And not my God alone." 

May our hearts be turned away from the perish- 
ing things of earth and fastened upon things divine, 
then shall we be filled with righteousness, and 
being thus filled, shall be blessed far beyond any ex- 
periences of the past. 



CHAPTER VI. 



The Merciful. 



Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain 
mercy. Matt. v. yii. 

' 'The qualitj* of mercy is not strained ; 
It droppetli, as the gentle rain from heaven 
Upon the place beneath ; It is twice blessed : 
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes." 

Shakespeaee. 

A beautiful description of the merciful has been 
given us by Erasmus. "The merciful are those who, 
through brotherly love, account another person's misery 
their own ; who weep over the calamities of others ; 
who, out of their own property, feed the hungry and 
clothe the naked ; who admonish those that are in error, 
inform the ignorant, pardon the offending, and who, in 
short, use their utmost endeavors to relieve and com- 
fort others." 

Mercy is a very prominent feature in the divine 
character, and hence the merciful man bears in this re- 
spect the image of God. It is said of the Almighty 
that his tender mercies are over all his works. It is 
only by the mercy of God that sinners are not consumed. 
He bears with the wickedness and folly of men, because 
he would have all men come to repentance and eternal 
life. 

6 



42 



The mercy of God is seen in nature. The bright 
beams of the morning, the flowery plain, the waving 
harvest, the early and latter rain, the ceaseless succes- 
sion of day and night, seed-time and harvest, summer 
and winter, all proclaim the divine goodness and love, 
the mercy of God. When the race became sinful, God 
might have dried up the fountain of every stream, 
he might have quenched the light of every star, 
and thrown over the fair face of nature a pall of univer- 
sal blackness, but mercy stayed his hand, and the sun 
shone on, the gentle shower fell upon the parched field, 
flowers bloomed, fruits ripened, and the harvest tossed 
its golden plumes in the soft rays of an autumn sun. 
Our poor earth, scarred by the plow-share of death from 
pole to pole, groaning under the tears and sins of six- 
thousand years, still bears upon her hill-tops and plains 
the impress of God's tenderness and mercy. Healing 
plants twine and blossom around the darkened chamber 
of the invalid, flowers bloom amid volcanic lava, and the 
swollen bosom of the tempest is illuminated by the 
rainbow of peace and promise. 

But if we turn from nature to grace, we will see 
still brighter displays of the divine mercy. Beautifully 
did Watts sing, 

"Part of thy name divinely stands, 

On all thy creatures vvrit ; 
They show the labor of thy hands, 
Or imjoress of thy feet. 

But when we view thy strange design 

To saye rebellious worms, 
Where yengeance and compassion join 

In their diyinest forms. 



43 



Here the whole Deity is known, 

Nor dare a creature guess 
Which of the giorees brighter shone, 

The justice or the grace." 

The gentle hand of mercy stayed the sword of 
justice. Even to our first parents, crushed beneath 
their load of sin and misery came a promise of 
salvation. In the ascending smoke of Abel's sacri- 
fice, in all the types and shadows of the Jewish ritual, 
the blood-sprinkled door-posts, the cherubim bending 
over the mercy-seat, the scape goat fleeing away into 
the wilderness, we see symbolized the mercy of God. 
We hear its sweet undertone in the song of the inspired 
poet, and in the thrilling, burning words of the 
prophet. All through the Old Testament, woven into 
its very warp and woof, imbedded deep in its precepts 
and warnings, runs the scarlet thread of mercy. 
In the New Testament the divine mercy is expressed 
in a single sentence, a sentence that Martin Luther 
called a little Bible, and in which is condensed 
the very essence of all revelation : " For God so 
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
lohosoever helieveth in him, should not ^perish, hut have ever- 
lasting life''* 

The love of God moved his heart to thus give his 
son, love brought the Saviour from the skies, love nerved, 
him for his sublime and awfal sacrifice, love sustained 
him amid the agonies of the garden and the cross. 

We see the mercy of God in the pardon and salva- 
tion of great and notorious sinners, as Manasseh, King 
of Judah, Mary Magdelene, Saul of Tarsus, John Bun- 



44 



yan and thousands of others brought up from the very 
depths of sin and error. 

Happy must be the man in whose heart glows the 
divine flame of mercy. In this he is like God. In a de- 
gree he can enter into the thoughts and feelings of God. 
His soul is calm. He breathes the very atmosphere 
of heaven, for heaven is the perfection of love, as 
hell is the perfection of hatred. Anger, malice, 
revenge, rage, jealousy find no lodgement within his 
breast. If we would still more clearly see the beauty 
and blessedness of mercy, we must consider the nature 
and effects of its opposites, hatred and revenge. These 
evil passions have filled the world with crime and 
misery, have stained its fields and plains with human 
blood, turned large cities and peaceful villages into de- 
serted ash-heaps, pitched tribes, nations and empires 
against each other, and made widows and orphans by 
the million. 

The merciful are pronounced blessed by our 
Saviour, because ^^tliey shall obtain mercy ^ 

This principle enters into our Lord's Prayer. ^'And 
forgive us our debts, as ice forgive our debtors.^^ 

Again, ^^For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your 
heavenly Father loill also forgive you : 

^^But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither loill 
your Father forgive your trespasses. 

This is the same principal announced by the 
Apostle : 'for lohatsoever a man soioeth that shall he also 
reap'' How can a man dare to hope for mercy from 
God, when he refuses the same to a fellow mortal ? 

In one of his matchless parables, the Saviour illus- 
trates and reiterates the principle contained in this 



45 



beatitude, that the merciful and only the merciful can 
obtain mercy. 

**Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft 
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him ? 
till seven times ? 

Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee. Until 
seven times : but, Until seventy times seven. 

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a 
certain king which would take account of his servants. 

And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought 
unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. 

But forasmuch as he bad not to pay, his lord com- 
manded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and 
all that he had, and payment to be made. 

• The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped 
him, sayiog, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay 
thee all. 

Then the lord of that servant was moved with com- 
passion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 

But the same servant went out, and found one of 
his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence : 
and he laid hands on him, and took hiw. by the throat, 
saying, Pay me that thou owest. 

And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and be- 
sought him, saying. Have patience with me, and I will 
pay thee all. 

And he would not : but went and cast him into 
prison, till he should pay the debt 

So when his fellow servants saw v/hat was done, 
they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord 
all that was done. 

Then his lord, after that he had called him, said 



46 



unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all 
that debt, because thou desiredst me : 

Shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy 
fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee ? 

And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the 
tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto 
you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his 
brother their trespasses." 

An incident in the life of Wesley beautifully illus- 
trates this parable : 

Gov. Orglethrope, a fellow-passenger with him in 
the voyage to America, became very much enraged at 
his colored servant, because he had broken open and 
drank several bottles of very choice wine that the Gov- 
ernor had stored away for his private use. Wesley 
interceded for the trembling offender, and tried to calm 
the passion of the excited and enraged Orglethrope. 
*'Sir," said he to Wesley, "I never forgive." "Then," 
calmly replied Mr. Wesley, "I hope you never offend." 
This had the desired effect. The Governor was calmed 
and the poor servant forgiven. *'It becomes a question 
affecting our own state before God, whether we are of a 
forgiving spirit or not. If we are unwilling to forgive 
those who have injared us, are we ourselves forgiven? 
If we can go forth into the world from hearing the gos- 
pel message, and, finding anyone there who has done us 
wrong, can act, or speak, or think toward them in an 
unkind or unmerciful way, is it not sadly plain that the 
message of the gospel has not reached our hearts, and 
that God's mercy in Jesus Christ has not really been 
laid hold of by us ?"^ 

^^Ttie Parables of our Lord Explained and Applied. Rev. Francis Boiirdillon, 
M. A. Page 148. 



47 



The great need of the church in this age, and in 
every age, for that matter, is a mighty baptism of the 
spirit of love. 

It was said in the days of old, in the days of prim- 
itive simplicity and power, "See how these Christians 
love each other" ; and not only did they love each 
other, but their hearts went out in love to a lost and 
dying world. 

There is nothing mean or selfish about the true 
christian. He sings, and loves to sing 

"Tlie arms of lov© that compass me 
Would all mankind embrace," 

His own joy in God is often subdued^ as he con- 
templates the sinner, rushing headlong down to ruin 
and death. This love for the souls of men is the basis 
of all missionary enterprise. When will physi- 
cians combine to plunge into the depths of the 
wilderness, to go to the wild and uncivilized parts of the 
earth that they may rescue men from physical 
disease ? When will philosophers do the same, in 
order to impart knowledge ? A desire to gain know- 
ledge, curiosity, pleasure, ambition, or fondness for 
adventure may lead men of the world to such toil and 
privation, but only the child of God will take such sac- 
rifice and labor upon him, that he may win the souls of 
men from sin, and allure them to the path to heaven. 

How constantly is the principle of this beatitude 
illustrated in daily life ! The merciful obtain 
mercy. Men reap what they sow. They get that which 
they give. Men do not pity the groans of Nero, or weep 
over the fate of Herod. Cursing comes back 
upon the head of him who utters it. The cruel and un- 



48 



forgiving have no right to expect mercy either from God 
or man. Sweetness is always conjoined with real good- 
ness. Sour piety is a contradiction in terms. True 
faith always bears its appropriate fruit. To clothe the 
naked, to feed the hungry, to visit the sick, to comfort 
the afflicted, to forgive one's enemies, is a very impor- 
tant part of true Christianity. Cold and false, hypo- 
critical and vain, is any profession of religion that does 
not include these things. 

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and 
all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
throne of his glory : 

And before him shall be gathered all nations : and 
he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd 
divide th Ms sheep from the goats : 

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but 
the goats on the left. 

Then shall the King say unto them on his right 
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the king- 
dom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : 

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I 
was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, 
and ye took me in : 

Naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye 
visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me : 

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, 
when saw we thee an hungered, and fed tliee ? or thirsty, 
and gave thee drink ? 

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or 
naked, and clothed thee ? 

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came 
unto thee ? 



49 



And the King shall answer and say unto them, 
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it un- 
to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it 
unto me. 

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, 
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels : " 

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat ; 
I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : 

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in : naked, 
and ye clothed me not : sick, and in prison, and ye visit- 
ed me not. 

Then shall they also answer him, saying. Lord, 
when saw we an hungered, or a thirst, or a stranger, or 
naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto 
thee ? 

Then shall he answer them, saying. Verily I say 
unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least 
of these, ye did it not to me. 

And these shall go away into everlasting punish- 
ment : but the righteous into life eternal. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Tlie Pure in Heart. 

Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see 
God. Math. Y. Yiii. 

The idea of purity was deeply imbedded in the Jewish 
mind : but it was to the most only a ceremonial purity. 
They made clean the outside of the cup and platter, 
garnished and whitened the sepulchres of the dead. Of 
heart purity they had but the faintest idea. It was a 
peculiarity of Christ's teachings, that they struck down 
beneath all outward form and show, reaching to the 
Yery subsoil of the heart and conscience. To him, the 
outward act was a small affair, compared with the inner 
and hidden motiYe of the heart : the letter mattered 
but little, the spirit was eYerything. Hence the form of 
this beatitude. 

The heart is the fountain, if that be pure, the whole 
current of thought and feelicg will be clean. On the 
other hand, from a corrupt and depraYed heart, nothing 
good or pure can proceed, A polluted and bitter foun- 
tain cannot send forth clear and sweet waters. Man 
looks at the outward appearance but God looks upon the 
heart. We may deceiYe our fellowmen, but the eye of 
God looks down through all show and sham, upon the 
secret springs of thought and motiYe. To his unerring 
Yision, Moses in exile, Daniel in the lion's den, Paul and 



51 



Silas in prison, Cranmer burning at the stake, Bunyan 
in Bedford jail ; are nobler characters than kings and 
queens upon their thrones. 

Purity of heart may consist with great defects in 
conduct, with errors of judgment and imperfections of 
knowledge. Our conduct is governed by our judgment, 
our judgment is based upon our knowledge, and our 
knowledge is of necessity finite and imperfect. 

Scripture history furnishes us with many proofs of 
this. The heart of John was all aglow with love and 
purity, when he fell down to worship at the feet of the 
angel that show^ed to him the heavenly glory. But he 
received a gentle rebuke. ^^And he said unto me, see tliou 
do it not : I am thy felloio servant, and of thy brethren that 
have the testimony of Jesus : luorship God'^ 

That God looks upon the heart, and judges us by 
the motives from which we act, is a great comfort to 
God's people. How often the world misjudges us. 
The friends of Job thought that his afflictions came as a 
judgment and punishment for his sins : but God knew 
his servant better, and bore witness to his integrity. 

Men of the world are only too glad to find defects 
and blemishes in the lives of Christians, and seize with 
eagerness upon the slightest pretext for pointing the 
finger of scorn. Happily for the believer, he is not to 
be judged by man's judgment, but by one who looks 
upon the heart. 

The pure in heart are pronounced blessed because 
they shall see God. Yet Ave read again that God has 
not been seen at any time, that no man can see God. 
We cannot see God with mortal eye, he has not ma- 
terial body or parts that we may behold : but spiritually 



62 



we can see God, can feel his presence, can in some 
feeble measura comprehend his character and glory. 
The pure in heart realize the abiding presence of God. 
In him, they live move and have their being. They feel 
surrounded by bis presence and glory, as the bird is 
surrounded by the atmosphere or the fish by water. 
They see God in nature. The heavens declare to them 
his glory, and the firmament showetli his handy work. 
The expanding flower, the singing bird, the fleecy cloud, 
the sun shining in his strength, the starry heavens, 
all alike speak to the pure in heart of God's goodness 
and power. Through nature they can look up and see 
nature's God. 

The pure and heart see God in his word. To the 
carnal and worldly, it is a sealed book. They may 
admire its literary beauties, but into its hidden depths 
of spiritual meaning, they cannot enter. They may see 
a few nuggets lying upon the surface, but the pure in 
heart wander through mines of endless wealth. From 
the sacred pages of this book, they hear the voice of 
God; in its holy teachings, they trace the mind and will 
of God and from its inspired utterances, they learn to 
enter into the thoughts and plans of God. To them 
every sentence and line, from the opening declaration of 
Genesis, to the closing benediction of Kevelation, is 
instinct with the light and life of God. 

The pure in heart see God in the events of every 
day life, in the unfolding of human history, and in the 
joys and sorrows of their own experience. They know 
that the very hairs of their heads are numbered, that 
for them all things, even the ills and sorrows of life 
shall work together for good. 



53 



They can trace the hand of God in little things, as 
well as in great. They have learned not to despise the 
day of small things. God speaks to them in the events 
of every hour, in all the details of every-day life. They 
walk with God. Their lives are hid with Christ in God. 
They abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 

They shall at last see God in heaven. They shall 
behold his glory in the temple above. They shall look 
with eje undimmed upon the full-orbed glory of the 
heavenly world. Theirs are the joys and triumphs of 
eternity. They shall v/alk with God in white, for they 
are worthy. Oh ! blessed company of the pure in heart. 
It were better to walk and fellowship with them, than 
with kings and princes. They are the real kings of 
earth, yea, the kings of heaven also, for they shall live 
and reign with Christ forever. The pure in heart are 
not confined to any age, race or creed. We find them 
in every age, even the darkest. 

God has had his chosen ones in the very midnight 
of the church's history. Noah feared and served God, 
amid a perverse and ungodly generation. Enoch walked 
with God, way back in the early dawn of history when 
the earth was yet wet with the morning dews of crea- 
tion. Elijah was faithful though the nation had aposta- 
tized, and feared not to brave the wrath of a wicked 
King. During the thick darkness of the middle ages, 
there were some who saw the true light and walked with 
God. 

There havebeen saints in every age. Fenelon, Pascal 
and Masillon,were eminent examples of piety, though like 
lamps in a sepulchre they only served to reveal the 
surrounding corruption and gloom. They were like 



54 



those flowers that grow up from the bosom of a dead 
and decaying tree. **God is no respector of persons : 
but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh 
righteousness, is accepted with him." In the light of 
such an affirmation as this, who shall say that even in 
heathen ages and in heathen lands, may not be found 
some, who living up to the light received, have aspired 
after fellowship with God, and are entitled to a place 
among the pure in heart ? The pure in heart are often 
almost unknown to the world, and even to the church. 
They court not the glare and glamour of public favor 
or popular applause. The hot sun of publicity and 
prosperity, has a withering influence upon tender flowers 
and delicate perfumes. These prefer the shady nook, 
the cool and quiet retreat. The pure in heart can rest 
satisfied in God. If he smiles they care not who 
frowns. If he approves, it matters little who condemns. 
His presence transforms the prison or jail, until it seems 
a very palace of light and beauty. John Bunyan, a 
prisoner in Bedford jail, in spirit walked upon the shin- 
ing hills of Beulahland, and held wrapt converse with 
saints and angels. 

Daniel spent a pleasant night in the lions den, and 
Paul and Silas sang the praises of God, in the damp 
depths of a dungeon. 

All who will may enjoy this rich blessing. It does 
not require wealth, power or inflaence. God's grace is 
as free as the sunshine. Still there are necessary con- 
ditions. We cannot have both Christ and the world, 
God and Mammon. The one excludes the other. 
They cannot mix or even abide in the same heart. If 
we want God in all his fullness we must let go all 



56 



allurements of sin, and all the follies of the world. If 
we do this, the power and the blessing will come, and 
we shall see God. 

Surely such a sight will repay any sacrifice ; for 
God is the fountain of all truth, the origin of all life. 

The pure in heart increase and grow in purity and 
power. Their pathway is onward and upward, shining 
more and more into the perfect day. 

They grow under a very simple law. They behold 
the glory of God, and by its reflection are changed into 
the same glory. The light shines back upon them and 
daily beholding God they become daily more like God. 
Beautifully has the Apostle stated this great principle. 

*'Bat we all with open face beholding as in a glass 
the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image 
from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord." 
We very naturally become in thought and feeling 
like those with whom we intimately associate. If w^e 
walk and talk with God, we become like God. To be- 
come like God, is to attain the very highest good. 
There is no limit to our growth and development in this 
direction. 

W e can never measure up to the infinite fullness of 
God. There will always rise up before us higher alti- 
tudes to scale. Like a certain line in the higher 
mathematics, we shall always tend toward, yet never 
reach the point of rest. But whether toiling and sufl:er- 
ing on earth, panting on the bed of death, or rejoicing 
amid the glories of heaven, we shall be blessed. 

This divine blessedness no earthly calamity can 
take from us. 

A peace and happiness that is subjective, springing 



56 



lip from within, does not depend upon the world. 
Worldly bliss is objective, comes from without, is easily 
destroyed. The child of God has blessedness within 
him. The divine peace is within, a well of water spring- 
ing up into everlasting life. How can that man be 
otherwise than blest, who carries within his ow^n heart, 
the fountain of perennial peace ? 

He needs not to go forth in eager search for hap- 
piness. Happiness has come to him. How constant 
and feverish is the pursuit of happiness among men of 
the world ! 

Some seek for it in the laurels of fame, others amid 
the gay bowers of pleasure, and still others search for 
it in the gray halls of learning. 

The pure in heart find their joy in God. Hence 
their peace flows like a river, their joy abides in the 
deepest night. 

' 'Joy is a fruit that will not grow in nature's barren soil : 
All we can boast tell Christ we know is yanity and toil ; 
But where the Lord has planted grace and made his glories known, 
There fruits of heavenly joy and peace are found, and there alone." 



CHAPTER VIII, 



The Peace-Makers. 



" Blessed are the peace-makers : for they shall be 
called the children of God." Math. v. ix. 

"All tilings that speak of heaven speak of peace." 
—Bailey. 

The gospel of Christ is a gospel of peace. Peace 
on earth, was the burden of the angelic song, that rang 
out under the star-lit skies, and over the plains of 
Bethlehem. Christ brings peace to the individual soul, 
and if his gospel were universally received, it would 
bring peace to all the nations and tribes of earth. No 
man can be a true follower of Christ, if the law of love 
and peace does not reign in his heart. 

Love toward God, hatred and anger toward men, 
cannot abide in the same heart. 

The same fountain cannot at the same time send 
forth sweet waters and bitter. By a very natural law, 
the peace-possessor becomes a peace-maker. The law 
of love and peace beams from his eye, distills from his 
lips, breaths in all his thoughts, purifies and ennobles 
all his utterances. 

Such an one is indeed blessed, subjectively blessed. 
The possession of such peace is in itself a blessing. 
How much better is calm than storm, rest than tumult, 
the quiet of love than the rage of hate. He becomes a 

8 



blessing to others. Love and peace tend to reproduce 
themselves. He is especially blessed in thus showing 
that he is a child of God. He shows forth the image of 
his heavenly Father. He bears the family likeness. 

The peace here spoken of is real peace — not the 
sham and semblance of peace, growing out of compro- 
mise with wrong, union between light and darkness, the 
kingdom of truth and the kingdom of sin. 

Christ himself the Prince of Peace, was opposed, 
rejected and slain by the powers of darkness. His 
disciples were hated and persecuted. 

So has it been all along the ages. The pathway of 
the true church has been marked by tears and blood, 
illuminated by the fires of martyrdom, and made nar- 
row and thorny by the malice and hatred of a godless 
world. As it was in the beginning of the church's his- 
tory, and ever has been along the line of her march 
down the ages, so it is to-day. 

The church is no longer opposed by fire and sword, 
but the old enmity is there. This "vile world" is still 
no **friend to grace" to help the christian on to God. 
Even yet, down in the closing years of this boasted 
nineteenth century, the world goes in one direction, the 
christian in another. So will it be to the end of time. 

Yet Christ is the Prince of Peace. His gospel is a 
message of love and rest. 

His disciples are peace-makers. His church is the 
light and hope of the world. When truth and evil come 
in conflict, the fault is not with the truth. Ahab was 
the troubler of Israel, not Elijah. We cannot blame 
the light, because it drives away tbe darkness. If our 
hearts are not in harmony and sympathy with Christ, 



59 



it is only so much the worse for us. If we love dark- 
ness rather than light it is simply because our deeds 
are evil. 

We must have first purity, then peace. As light 
follows darkness, as the rain-bow beams upon the path- 
way of the storm, as smiles of joy succeed to tears of sor- 
row so does true and lasting peace follow the conflict be- 
tween truth and error. We glance down the stream of 
human history, and WG see a thousand illustrations of 
this great principal. In the lives and labors of the 
Apostles, in the sufferings and death of the martyrs, 
in the toils and persecutions of Wesley, in fact, in the 
history of truth for nearly six thousand years, we see 
that conflict must come before purity and peace. It is 
even so in the human soul, in the great crisis of its his- 
tory, when the transition is made from the kingdom of 
darkness to the kingdom of light. We have the pangs 
of penitence, the sorrow of conviction, and afterward 
the joys of pardon and the rest of faith. It is by the 
same principle that we have the pilgrimage of earth, 
and afterward the bliss and glory of heaven. Pain be- 
fore pleasure, labor before rest, battle before victory, 
darkness before light, tears before smiles, conflict be- 
fore peace. 

The great peace-makers have been men inured to 
conflict with the powers of sin and darkness. I he priv- 
ileges we enjoy in peace, our freedom from bigotry 
and oppression, our light and knowledge, were secured 
to us by conflicts waged before we were born. 

Then let no man think that to be a peace-maker 
means to be a coward. It means the very high- 
est style of manhood, It means a clear intellect, a 



60 



brave heart, a patient spirit. What are the bloody con- 
querors of history compared with these men and women 
of God. It is one thing to contend merely for glory 
and mastery, it is quite another thing to contend for 
purity and peace. 

"No peace was ever won from fate by sub- 
terfuge or agreement ; no peace is ever in 
store for any of us, but that which we shall 
win by victory over shame or sin — victor}^ over 
the sin that oppresses us as well as that which 
corrupts/' Euskin. 

To secure such a victory, to acquire such peace of 
heart and life, is certainly to become blessed. But this 
is not all. The peace-maker has not only a subjective 
blessedness, but becomes a child of God ; is seen and 
known to be such. The light of such a life cannot be 
hid. Even the world sees it, and recognize its 
power and beauty. "Blessed are the peace-makers : 
for they shall be called the children of God." Earth 
has no such honor as this : to be a child of God. What 
is royal ancestry compared with it ? 

The children of God are happy. All things, in- 
cluding pain, sickness, poverty, bereavement, and all 
that the world counts evil, v/ork together for their good. 

The children of God are secure. No harm can 
come to them. The promises of God cover all the dis- 
asters of life, and throw a halo of glory over the dark- 
est cloud. God's saints sing songs in the night. His 
beloved sleep amid storm and trial. The children of 
God are the heirs of God. This is both law and logic. 
*'If children, then heirs." Their inheritanc is beyond 
the reach of st^rm and flood, of flame and pain. 



61 



It is an inheritance, "incorruptible and undefiled." 
Then the children of God are rich. All the treasures 
of God are theirs. Poor they may be to worldly eyos, 
but they have treasure of which the half has not been 
told. The peculiar blessing of the peace-makers is 
this . They so manifestly show forth the spirit of God, 
that they are known and recognized as the children of 
God. Even unholy men feel the power of a saintly life, 
and in their hearts respect the grace and virtue that 
they do not care to imitate. How few of the professed 
disciples of Christ possess this spirit in any marked 
degree ! The pages of Church History are filled with 
the record of strife and contention. 

How many contend for party and sect and fail to 
see that the glory of a denomination is one thing, and 
the glory of Christ another ? How many christians will 
or resent an insult or injury just as quickly as men of 
the world ? 

Herein is the church shorn of her power. Baptized 
with the spirit of her Master, she would move on to 
glorious victories. 

We learn from the form of all these beatitudes that 
christians are already blessed. Each is in the present 
tense. **Blessed are." We need not wait for a bless- 
ing until we reach our heavenly state. We are blessed 
here. Our full reward is to be hereafter, but here, we 
have heaven begun. Men go to the Indies and to the 
Western plains, for gold and riches, but here are pearls 
of benediction, glowing in all the riches of eternity, free 
to all ; yet are they passed by and neglected for the 
dust of earth and time. The gold, the pearls, the 
jewels of earth will all melt down in the flames of the 



62 



last da}^ but these gems of blessing will emit their radi- 
ance through all the ages of eternity. 

Men sell eternity for time, heaven for a mess of 
pottage. The world has its heroes. Mostly are they 
men of war and carnage. Their pathway to fame is 
marked by burning villages, sacked cities and fields 
soaked in blood. 

But the heroes of God, the glorious company of 
peace-makers shall live and reign forever. Even the 
world itself shall at last see things in their right light. 

The peace-makers shall be called the children of 
God, and the meek ''shall inherit the earth." Soon will 
come the appointed time for the manifestation of the 
sons of God. Then shall God's hidden ones arise and 
shine with all the glory of eternity. 

Then shall men ^'discern between the righteous and 
the wicked, between him that serveth God and him 
that serveth him not." It may seem to our poor and 
fainting hearts that God is **slack concerning his prom- 
ise" — but his truth stands sure, and his word cannot 
fail. The night is far spent, and the morning light al- 
ready begins to dawn. 

Courage, fainting soul, the promised day is near. 

' '0 it is hard to work for God, 
To rise and take his part 
Upon this battle-field of earth, 
And not sometimes lose heart ! 

He hides himself so wondrous ly, 

As though there were no God ; 
He is least seen when all the powers 

Of ill are most abroad. 



Or he deserts us in the hour 
The fight is all but lost ; 



6a 



And seems to leave us to ourselves 
Just when we need him most. 

It is not so, but so it looks ; 

And we lose courage then ; 
And doubts will come if God hath kept 

His promises to men. 

But right is right, since God is God ; 

And light the day must win ; 
To doubt would be disloyalty, 

To falter would be sin." 

Fkedebick W. Fabeb, 



i 



CHAPTER IX. 



Tlie Persecuted. 



"Blessed are they whicli are persecuted for right- 
eousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 

Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and per- 
secute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you 
falsely, for my sake. Math. v. xi., xii. 

The last beatitude is reserved for the persecuted. 
It was given to cheer the suffering saints of God in 
every age. 

For weary centuries the enemies of Christ made 
war upon the church with fire and sword. All of the 
Apostles died a martyr's death. Many thousands of 
God's holiest ones have died upon the rock, expired in 
smoke and flame at the stake, or worn their lives away 
in loathsome dungeons. 

''They lived unknown 'till persecntion dragged them into fame, 

And chased them np to heaven. Their ashes flew 

Ko marble tells us whither. With their names 

No bard embalms and sanctifies his song ; 

And history, so warm on meaner themes, 

Is cold on this. She execrates, indeed, 

The tyranny that doomed them to the fire; 

But gives the glorious sufi:'rers little praise," 

But their names are written in the Lamb's Book of 
Life, and they shall be crowned with everlasting glory 
at the coming of the Lord. 

The foes of Christ no longer resort to flame and 

9 



66 



rack in order to oppose his church. The spirit of the 
age does not permit this, for freedom is the watchword 
among all nations. But the world on this account hag 
lost none of its old hatred of the truth. The hatred, 
the old enmity is still there ; only it manifests itself 
in another way. Theie are two reasons why chris- 
tians are not persecuted as in former days. One 
reason is that the world lacks the power. It is 
not possible to renew the old days. The spirit of 
Christianity has broken the sword, quenched the fire^ 
and diffused light and liberty among the nations. The 
other reason is a sad, but we believe true one. The 
vast majority of christians do not in these last days live 
so as to provoke persecution. If the church has gone 
out into the world, it is also time that the world has 
jcome up into the church. The church has had a vast 
influence upon the world, but alas ! the world has had 
no small influence upon the church. If the church of 
Christ lived and walked in the holy light of God, and 
bore her constant testimony against the sins and follies 
of a godless world, the old tiger of hate and persecu- 
tion would be aroused. But in many places the church 
has thrown her patronage and protection over the 
dance, the play-house, the card-table, the race-course, 
all, all the follies and vanities of the world. Such 
churches and such christians will never be persecuted, 
but upon them will fall the woe pronounced by our 
Saviour upon those of whom all men speak well. If 
we have the friendship of the world, we must be at 
enmity with God. We cannot serve the two masters. 
Like the Israelites of old, we are called upon to 
choose whom we will serve. 



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But in this age, as in every age. God has a seed 
to serve him. In every place, in every church there are 
a few that have kept their garments unspotted from the 
world. These are often the subjects of persecution, not 
as in old times, physical persecution and bodily injury. 
There are other forms of torture than these. The cold 
sneer, the curling lip, social ostracism, these to a ten- 
der and delicate nature are as hard to bear as 
flame and rack. But, note in order io receive and 
enjoy this benediction, the persecution must be 
for Christ's sake. If our follies and inconsistencies 
bring down upon us the scorn or sneer of men, we have 
no claim upon our Saviour's promise. It is a special 
promise, pronounced upon special fidelity. "When the 
persecution and the reviling comes upon us, because we 
stand faithful to Jesus, then indeed can we rejoice in 
our Lord's sweet smile of blessing. Happy they who 
bear the cross of suffering, that they may wear the 
crown of glory. 

In this, we follow on in the footsteps of our Lord. 
The suffering comes first, and the glory afterward. 
Calvary before Olivet. The cross before the crown. 
But the battle once fought will never be fought again. 
The toils and tears, the conflicts and storms are tran- 
sient, the rest and peace, the joy and rapture will be 
eternal. One who knew full well, the meaning of 
sorrow and pain, of persecution and adversity has 
written : 

**For our light afiiiction, which is but for a moment, 
worketh for us, a far more exceeding and eternal weight 
of glory and again : *'I reckon, that the suffering of 
this present time are not worthy to be compared with 



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the glory which shall be revealed in iis." The rest will 
be all the sweeter, because of earthly toil. Present 
suffering will only enhance the future glory. Looking 
back upon the pathway of the pilgrim church, we find 
it reddened by the blood of unnumbered martyrs- 
They constitute a glorious army. Some, like Polycarp, 
were burnt at the stake, others were devoured by wild 
beasts, their blood mingling with the sands of the 
arena, some were torn to pieces upon the rack, and 
others were more quickly slain by the sword. It may 
be that ere the present dispensation closes, these scenes 
of persecution will be renewed. It would only be in 
analogy with the past history of the church. In all 
probability, it would be short sharp and bloody, the 
last conflict between good and evil the light and the 
darkness. God and truth must prevail. 

But in the heavenly glory those who have suffered 
the most for Jesus here will shine the brightest. 

The blood-drops shed for Jesus, shall be trans- 
mounted into rubies of fadeless beauty, flashing forth 
their glory from the martyrs crown of life. The flre 
kindled by the red hand of persecution, shall become a 
halo of glory, for the brow of the enthroned and tri- 
umphant saint. 

Upon the noble army of martyrs rests the choicest 
benediction of our Lord, the brightest and best in this 
string of pearls. 

Our task is completed. For a little season, we 
have sat at the feet of Jesus, and caught the sweet 
accents, and listened to the inspiring words of the 
Prince of teachers. As we go forth from this mount of 
beatitudes, down into the valley of life's daily work 



69 



and trial, let us take witli us the holy and calming in- 
fluences of the sacred spot. It is our privilege ever to 
abide in the sunlight of these benedictions. 



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